Tuesday, November 1, 2005 Consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in September WASHINGTON - Cons... National and International Brief
WASHINGTON - Consumer spending rose higher in September and incomes grew briskly, suggesting that the economy is holding up well after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The 0.5 percent rise in consumer spending came after spending fell by that amount in August, reflecting the hit from Katrina, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
Americans' incomes increased by 1.7 percent in September, the largest gain since December 2004, helped in part by post-hurricane insurance payments. The growth in income marked an improvement from the 0.9 percent fall posted in August - a decline that largely reflected the effects of Katrina.
NEW YORK - Steve Case, a co-founder of America Online and one of the main architects of the disastrous AOL-Time Warner deal, said yesterday that he has resigned from Time Warner Inc.'s board of directors.
Case relinquished the role of chairman two years ago, but remained on Time Warner's board of directors despite the opposition of shareholders angered by the fallout of AOL's purchase of Time Warner, which led to large write-downs, shareholder lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny and a management purge.
Other key executives involved in the deal have already left the company, including Gerald Levin, a former CEO of Time Warner, and Bob Pittman, a former AOL executive.
The deal, expected to be completed in the first fiscal quarter of 2006, will create a 280-plus store chain with total sales of $3.5 billion. Bon-Ton will add 142 former Saks department stores under the names of Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Boston Store, Younkers and Herberger's to its store portfolio.
SAN ANTONIO - Oil-refiner Valero Energy Corp. reported yesterday that its third-quarter profit more than doubled, mostly because of high crude prices and wide refining margins, and said it expects to post record earnings in the last three months of the year.
Valero, the nation's largest refiner, also said that chief executive Bill Greehey will step down at the end of the year but that he will remain the company's chairman.
Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $858 million, or $2.94 a share. That compares with $431 million, or $1.57 a share, in the same period in 2004.
Excluding a $621 million inventory charge related to its acquisition in September of Premcor Inc., Valero's earnings were $1.3 billion, or $4.37 a share. That surpassed the average estimate of $4.23 a share by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
WASHINGTON - Vaccine improvement is expected to take center stage in the Bush administration's preparations for a worldwide flu outbreak, with a potential travel ban and restrictions on international commerce as part of the contingency planning.
President Bush will announce today his strategy for preparing for the next flu pandemic - preparations expected to cost at least $6.5 billion - and whether it is caused by the Asian bird flu or some other super-strain of influenza.
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